Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Marvin Mansky who wrote (16875)	6/6/1999 10:16:00 AM
From: Marco Polo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 64865

Microsoft will likely never "go away", but will it ever again be in the position it is right now? Likely not.

To: Marvin Mansky who wrote (16875)	6/6/1999 10:40:00 AM
From: High-Tech East	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 64865

..... I may be wrong about Microsoft ..... ..... but it amazes me how little vision most people have as to what may or may not happen in the intermediate to long term future ..... I typically use the analogy that "when things are going well, most people believe it will always be that way ..... and when things are going badly, most people believe it will always be that way also" which, of course, is almost never true (except for the very, very positive and very, very negative people, who almost always get their just rewards). ..... as to Microsoft, I am not one who thinks that they are in "deep trouble" from which they will never recover ..... but that does not mean the price of Microsoft stock might not tumble ..... and even tumble a lot ..... Gates and company are not visionaries (nor innovators), and in the near term, they have serious short term issues. (1) they have largely misjudged the movement towards thin-client, (2) they may be the only large corporation (tech and non-tech) to view Java as a threat, instead of the major break-through almost everyone else sees - which is an important statement if you stop to think about it. (3) they have bungled the lawsuit by the DOJ so badly as to embarrass themselves beyond measure - no matter their final penalty. (4) their values in terms of customer service and quality control are sub-standard, (5) if Windows 2000 (NT 5.0) is not in full release before 01/01/00, with all the bells and whistles running to perfection in terms of both performance and reliability, then good luck to all Microsoft shareholders, because it will be a long time before the P/E is 60 again, (6) sometimes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall - remember IBM and Apple (although, obviously, not recently), Polaroid, DEC, Compaq, Apollo Computer and most recently, Cabletron, and lastly (7) their recent large multi-cash purchases seem, in some ways, to be a panic reaction to the realization that their business model needs a major revisit. Not that I am at all impartial. I have a major investment in SUNW, since (May, 1997) of over 3,000 shares today. I believe that SUNW and IBM have seen the future, and we are all starting to watch it happen. Go Scotty. Ken Wilson ..... aka High-Tech East <<MSFT has $21.8 BLN in cash and short-term investments held at the end of the most recent quarter. So, despite the possible outcome of the government trial and the SUNW lawsuit, they will still be strong. You are just not going to see MSFT go away. MSFT earned $720 Million in the last quarter, one quarter of its pre-tax income last quarter solely from its war chest of cash and investments. Source: InformationWeek May 31, 1999 edition page 115.>>